Lewis



(No Model.)

C. W. ASH.4

LEWIS.

MTNEEEE UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES W. ASH, OF BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOROF ONE-HALF TO JAMES II. LANDER, OF CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

LEWIS..

SPECIFICATION forming' part of Letters Patent No. 277,532, dated May 15, 1883. Application filed January 4, 1883. (No model.)

. To all whom it may concern p Beitkuown thatI, CHARLES W. Asn, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, a citizen of the United States, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Lewises, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to i the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in explaining its nature, in 1o Which- -Figurel represents a front elevation of my improved lewis. Fig. 2is a vertical section of the lower portion thereof, representing it in use. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section upon the line .fr .z of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 represents my invention as applied to a lewis adapted for use with tapering holes; Fig. 5, a view in horizontal section on the luey yof Fig. 4. Figs. (i and 7 are detail views.

The object of the invention is to provide a self-adjusting or automatic device for lifting grindstones, millstones, buildingstones, and other heavy articles in the way that the lewis is now employed-that is, by means of a hole, either straight or undercut, 'formed in thestone or article to` be lifted. This I accomplish by hin gin g together, as hereinafter explained, two levers, the lower portions of which are adapted to enter the hole in the stone or article and 3o bear against the sides thereof, and the upper ends ot' which are adapted to be brought together by means of a chain, toggle, or in any other desirable way by or upon the lifting of the stone. For lifting building-stones or other 3 5 articles having undercut recesses the construction shown in Fig. 4 will answer very well; but for lifting grindstones or millstones, or articles having a straight-sided hole, the construction shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 is preferable.

Referring tothe drawings, a o.' are levers, connected with each other at the point a2 by means of the clasping-plates c3, which are piv oted to the levers at n.4, as shown, and the interlocking gear ai", or by means ot' a hinge joint ofequivalent construction-that is, of a construction that will prevent the movement of the two levers in relation to each other without one slipping upon the other. The lower ends, o6 al, of the lewis may beV straight, as

shown in Fig. 4, or they each may he provided 5o with a shoe, b, as represented in Figs. 1, 2, and

3. In case the shoe is employed, one is pivoted to the lower end of each lever at b', and

it swings thereon so that its outer or contacting face, b2, can automatically conform to the line of the surface against which it comes'in contact.

In order that the shoes may not hang freely from the ends of the arms and prevent their ready insertion into the lewis-hole, I have at- 6o tached to each arm a spring, b3, which bears against the lower end of the shoe bt, and keeps the shoe parallel with the outward surface of the ends a6 al when they are not in use and while they are being inserted into the lewiso5 hole. In order that the strain or weight of the stone may not come entirely upon the pivots b', I have provided in the shoes a shoulder, b5, against which a shoulder. LG, or any other portion of the lower end of the arm shall come in 7c contact when the lewis is in place, and to enable such contact to take place the holes l)7 in the ends of the lewis through which the pivots pass are enlarged, as represented, so that after the shoes have come to rest the ends a. a7 shall move until their shoulders shall come in contact with the shoulders upon the shoe. The upper portions of the arms of the lewis are connected with each other and with the hoisting-chain by meansl of the chain or iiexi 8o ble connections c o', which extend from the arms to the hoisting-chain, or by means'cf the cross-plate c, carrying the rolls e' at their outer ends, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5i, and which bear upon the outer surfaces of the arms a a' 85 and the metal or other connecting-bar e2, which extends from the ends of the plates c to the solid lilik and chain in Fig. 4.

In usethe lower jaws ot the lewisarc brought together and inserted into the lewis-hole in the 9o stone or other article, and are opened so that the outer surfaces of thejaw contact with the side surface of the hole. This may be done by hand preparatory to the commencement ot' the hoisting or lifting ot' the articles; or it will be 95 done automatically upon the commencement ot' such action, as the movement or stress of such action upon the upper portions of the levers causes them to be brought together, and i consequently the lower jaws or portions to be separated, and the weight of the stone or article upon the lewis prevents the jaws from closing and produces suicient friction between the contacting surface of the hole and that of the jaws to insure a safe holding by the lewis.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United Statesl. A lewis having the arms a a', shaped as described, the jaws a al, and the interlocking strapped joint, secnrin g the arms together, all substantially as set forth 2. The combination, in a lewis, of the two 15 arms a a', having jaws as a7, the interlocking gear a5, and the connecting-plates a2, substan` tially as described, and for thepurposes set forth.

3. The combination of the arms a af, the zo jaws a6 a7, having the adjustable shoes b, and means for uniting the arms to each other, substantially as specified, all substantially as and for the purposes described.

CHARLES W. ASH.

Witnesses:

F. F. RAYMOND, 2d, WILLARD C. Foes. 

